India address manning crisis in shipping

India’s theme of the year for 2008, announced on National Maritime Day, is ?Solving the manning crisis in the maritime industry?. At the fourth annual India Shipping Summit (ISS), which will run from 29 September to 1 October at Grand Hyatt Mumbai, a special forum will be devoted to examining and resolving this crisis.

RECENT STUDIES by the International Shipping Federation and BIMCO have highlighted that the major worldwide shortage of qualified ship’s officers will become more acute as the massive fleet of new ships is rolled out from the yards over the next three years. With competition for quality seafarers, crew retention becomes a vital issue for ship operators.

Tony Mason, Secretary General of the International Chamber of Shipping and the International Shipping Federation, will join other speakers including V.Ships India?s MD, Captain Rajesh Tandon, to ask why Indian owners and operators are facing crew shortages in a country with over a billion inhabitants.

It has been suggested that educated Indians, like their counterparts in other countries, are just no longer interested in lonely ?floating? jobs, going instead for IT or corporate positions ? often for lower starting salaries. If that is the case, the Summit will determine if careers at sea can be made attractive again ? and if so, how?

The number and variety of opportunities for maritime training and education in India will be discussed, as will the pros and cons of outsourcing versus recruiting and training in-house. Implications of these issues for global shipping will be in the spotlight at the Summit, as will other hot topics such as India?s future as a global maritime player, delivering world-class infrastructure to the nation, the voice of the charterer, offshore oil and gas developments and energy transportation, maritime technology in a changing regulatory environment, and the future of shipbuilding in India.

For more details go to www.indiashippingsummit.com